Onwards - The story of Kevin Hayne

From numerous hikes miles into the Colorado mountains, high above the cloud covering, Kevin Hayne often shared with us amazing sights and powerful photographic imagery. Kevin was an avid Joomla! developer, hiker, and photographer, and was planning to go to college this fall with the goal of entering the ministry. However, on June 15, 2010, Kevin was attempting to climb Little Bear Peak with a friend when the ledge he was on gave way and he fell several hundred feet to his death. Yet Kevin's passing brings hope and leaves a legacy.

Kevin Hayne and Joomla!

I met Kevin while working on the zOOm Gallery Project with Mike de Boer. Kevin was enthusiastic about creating a photo gallery that would meet his needs and further his program development skills. Already well versed in Mambo, he immediately began working on the project, astounding us with his speed, accuracy, and dedication. It was months before we discovered we were working with a 13 year old.

I eventually hired Kevin as a part-time worker over the summer to provide support for our clients. His quality of work never wavered. He later joined GHOP in 2007-2008, and he became an active youth and voice in the Joomla! community.

A Passion for the Outdoors

Over the years I came to learn of Kevin's passion for hiking. He was particularly interested in the 14ers mountains around Denver, Colorado, where he lived. Kevin had successfully climbed 38 of the 54 mountains with summits above 14,000 feet in Colorado. His photos were as astounding as his development work. The beautiful pictures he posted from each trip made you feel that you were right there with him as he captured each special moment.

Kevin's Legacy

Kevin may be gone, but his memory and his legacy will remain. This summer after the accident, Kevin's parents set up donation funds in honor of his memory. If you are reading this, it would be kind of you to send $5 in Kevin's memory to one of the locations below:

Onwards!

Kevin gave the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation in May, and the words he spoke to his classmates have helped and encouraged those coping with his loss over these past four months:

“We need to have a Joshua attitude. It may appear that we are facing giants bigger than we can handle, walls too tall for us to demolish. We may be looking right in front of us and seeing some big obstacles and feel overwhelmed. On our own, things may seem confusing, difficult, or impossible. With a Joshua attitude, we can trust that God is in control.

Years ago, when I started to journal on a semi-regular basis, I got in the habit of closing every entry with a single word to remind me of this idea. It’s a loaded word. It can carry every meaning from “look to the future” to “Go with God.” It is all about stepping over whatever is in front of us and moving ahead with our eyes focused on God. I leave you with this word––Onwards”